SBI Holdings, one of Japan's largest financial conglomerates, is issuing its first blockchain-based bond for retail investors - a ¥10 billion ($64.5 million) security token offering that pairs fixed-income returns with XRP token rewards.
The three-year instruments, dubbed SBI START Bonds, are fully managed on-chain using BOOSTRY's "ibet for Fin" enterprise blockchain platform.
Secondary trading is scheduled to begin March 25 on Osaka Digital Exchange's proprietary START system. The final coupon rate, expected between 1.85% and 2.45% annually, will be set on March 10.
How the Reward Mechanism Works
Domestic retail investors and corporations purchasing at least ¥100,000 ($650) worth of bonds and holding an account with SBI VC Trade qualify for XRP rewards.
The initial distribution equals approximately ¥200 in XRP per ¥100,000 invested, paid at issuance and again on each semi-annual interest date through maturity in March 2029.
The XRP reward structure effectively delivers three additional cryptocurrency distributions over the bond's life, tying the investor's engagement with SBI VC Trade directly to the product's lifecycle.
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SBI's History With Ripple and XRP
SBI is not a neutral actor in the XRP ecosystem. The company has partnered with Ripple since 2016, co-founded SBI Ripple Asia, and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao has previously stated that SBI owns approximately 9% of Ripple Labs.
A subsidiary has previously distributed XRP directly to shareholders and supported XRP-powered cross-border remittances between Japan and the Philippines.
SBI has also partnered with Circle to introduce USDC in Japan and signed a memorandum of understanding with Ripple to distribute its RLUSD stablecoin.
The START bond issuance is the company's first to use a security token structure - a product category that remains rare among major financial institutions globally, particularly ones targeting retail rather than institutional buyers.
Why It Matters
The offering tests whether conservative retail investors in Japan will accept tokenized fixed-income instruments that bundle crypto incentives alongside traditional yield.
If the subscription period - running March 11–23 - draws strong demand, it could encourage other Japanese financial institutions to explore similar hybrid structures within the country's developing digital securities regulatory framework.
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